


Sweet Dreams

by SleepingAshes



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Gen, Growing Up, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 08:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12207408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepingAshes/pseuds/SleepingAshes
Summary: Richie Tozier doesn't have an easy home life. The losers find out through the years just how hard it can get.





	Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I saw IT a few days ago and boy am I obsessed. I hope this is ok, I'm not exactly used to these characters yet and I haven't read the book all the way through yet so I'm going purely off what I got from the movie! I hope people can enjoy this even if it gets a little sad!

**Bill**

It was the first time Bill was having a sleepover for his birthday and all he needed were his friends to get permission from their parents. His parents had already said it was ok, they just wanted a phone call from everyone’s parents so all of the adults could be on the same page. It hadn’t been an issue for Stan or Eddie. So long as Eddie remembered to take his medicine, his mother was surprisingly alright with the idea.

It was three days until Bill’s birthday and still no word from Richie’s parents. Bill didn’t want to bother him about it, he really didn’t, but Richie had said he wanted to be there and yet there was no word from his parents. At the end of the day it wasn’t a ridiculous idea that maybe Richie had just forgotten to ask so Bill decided to bring it up one more time before the party.

“H-hey Richie,” Bill approached him as they waited for the others to show up. “I don’t mean to b-bother you but my birthday is this saturday and…and my parents still need to h-hear from yours.”

“Oh shit, right,” Richie says as if he’d genuinely forgotten.

Bill’s prepared to say it’s no big deal, just get the parents to talk to each other and all’s well but Richie speaks up again before Bill gets the chance.

“Yeah that aint gonna happen, but I can still come.”

Bill gives him a questioning look.

“M-my parents--”

“My parents are out of town.” Richie cuts him off, lying through his teeth and Bill can tell. “Just tell ‘em that.”

Despite wanting to dig deeper for the reason Richie is lying, Bill just nods and decides not to argue. He’ll tell his parents what Richie said and try not to feel too bad about it. Besides it’s not like he’s the one who’d get in trouble if Richie was caught lying…

Something feels off when he tells his parents later that night that Richie can come, but they can’t call his parents because they’re out of town right now. His parents exchange a look that Bill is pretty sure means something more significant than he can think up. His mother tells him that she’ll give the household a call anyways-- if Richie’s parents are out of town then surely someone else is watching him.

Bill doesn’t know why he eavesdrops on the conversation but he does. Something unsettles him about the topic of Richie’s family and maybe he wants to find something out that Richie just wouldn’t tell him. He doesn’t get why, they’re friends, but Richie often dodges the topic of his parents in favor of making some horrible joke or is simply quiet while the others talk about their families.

“Mrs. Tozier, hi this is Mrs. Denbrough--” His mother’s voice is quiet and careful as she begins the call but quickly there’s irritating slipping into her tone. “It’s four in the afternoon-- are you already drunk?”

Whatever Richie’s mom says in response gets a bitter laugh out of Bill’s mom.

“Why did I expect anything different from this call? You’re always like this. I was calling to inform you that your son will be staying with us saturday evening. Let’s hope you can remember that much, goodbye Mrs. Tozier.”

Bill quietly makes his way to his room and tries not to overthink the small conversation he’d overheard but it doesn’t work. He sits there for some time trying to figure out bits and pieces about Richie’s life that his friend just never told him. Based on the conversation his mother had, he can bet Richie’s mom probably isn’t the best at paying attention or remembering things. It’d be hard to be a good parent if she was drunk all the time, right?

 

**Stan**

Stan really didn’t understand why he had to be the one to go get Richie today. Really, Richie should have already been waiting for them at the quarry but he was nowhere to be found. On his way to Richie’s house, Stan tried not to think about how flaky Richie had been lately. It wasn’t like him to no show but no one questioned it too much. He brushed off any sincere concern with crude humor so, naturally, everyone backed off.

Stan sighed heavily as he got off his bike and walked up to Richie’s front door. He always hated how poorly taken care of the house was. It was probably just him, but the uneven steps and broken railing really got to him. He  _ wished  _ he could fix it, but it wasn’t his property so that idea was out the window.

He knocked on the door twice then waited patiently for either Richie or his parents to answer. After three whole minutes with no response, Stan knocked again, this time louder. He heard what sounded like a crashing noise from somewhere inside, then yelling. Various swear words were muffled from behind the door and Stan had only heard a handful of them come out of Richie’s mouth before.

There was a brief moment of silence before the door finally opened and Stan was face to face with an older woman who reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. He resisted the urge to scrunch up his face in response to the odor.

“The fuck do you want?” The woman slurred.

“Um…” Stan fumbled for his words. “I-I’m…”

The woman sighed, clearly irritated. Stan relaxed a bit as he saw Richie appear from somewhere behind the woman. 

“Mom, I got it.” He said quietly.

The woman grunted in response and left him to it.

“That’s your mom?” Stan asked before thinking better of it.

“Yeah, who the fuck else would it be.” Richie had a bitter expression but he stepped outside and shut the door behind him. “What do you want?”

Richie’s tone sounded far more hostile than he intended but Stan made a point not to appear offended by it.

“We were supposed to meet up today at the quarry. Eddie and Bill are already there.”

“Fuck, that was today?”

“...Richie this is happening a lot lately.”

Richie narrowed his eyes and gave Stan a questioning look.

“You’re forgetting about us a lot.” Stan looked from Richie to the front door. “Is everything alright at home--”

“Everything’s fine.” Richie quickly said. “How about you? Everything fine at your home cuz when I’m fucking your mom she--”

“ _ Seriously _ ?!” Stan snapped.

Richie laughed, pleased to have gotten a reaction from him.

“You’re too easy…” Richie said, trying to contain his laughter. “Gimme like, I don’t know, thirty minutes. I’ll be on my way. Tell the others, ok?”

“I’m not your messenger boy.”

“Oh, my good sir! What else would you be?” Richie put on a horribly done British accent and faked looking offended. “On with you now! I must ready myself for the common folk!”

“You are so annoying.”

 

**Beverly**

It had been a few weeks since they defeated It. Bev had been staying with Richie until her family could come get her and she could hopefully go live a much better life than Derry had offered her. It didn’t take her long at all to figure out the only reason she was able to stay with Richie was that his parents were too drunk to realize she was even there.

Richie might have been rude and offensive, but he noticed her discomfort with his parents almost immediately. He didn’t know the full story of what went down between her and her father, but he could tell it was bad enough that she was worried about his parents possibly repeating her father’s behaviors.

“Don’t worry.” He’d told her. “They’re too shitfaced to do anything. All they do is sit there and drink and smoke.”

Bev had taken his word for it and for the most part, he was right. They barely paid her or Richie any attention. The worst that had happened thus far was some yelling directed at Richie when his father couldn’t find his cigarettes. Other than that, it was like neither of them existed.

Richie liked to pretend Beverly didn’t look at him with a softer expression nowadays. Luckily she knew him well enough to know not to bring it up. It worked for a while. Really, almost the whole time she stayed with him they had stuck to this unspoken agreement. She was set to leave in little over a week and things had gone by almost perfectly.

Of course things were never supposed to go well for the losers club.

The day started normally enough. Bev woke up a little later than normal but nothing indicated today would be any different from her usual routine. She got ready and went downstairs to look for Richie but stopped halfway down the stairs when she heard Mr. Tozier’s angry voice.

“Where the fuck did you put my damn cigarettes?!” The man was shouting.

“I didn’t do anything with them! I don’t even know where you put them!” Richie was saying in his defense.

“You ungrateful liar!”

Bev peaked around the corner and frowned. Mr. Tozier was obviously trying to size up Richie and intimidate him. Richie didn’t seem to be scared, just angry. Bev could tell.

“What do I have to be grateful about anyways?!” Richie snapped. “What do you even do for me?! You barely remember to get enough food so I can make meals for myself! All you and mom do is come home and drink and yell at me or each other! I have nothing to be grateful for when it comes to you two!”

Mr. Tozier seemed stunned by his son’s outburst.

“Seriously, fuck you!” Richie went on, “Fuck you and your shitty parenting!”

There was a beat of silence before a loud  _ smack  _ broke the quiet. Bev froze completely and tensed up, but watched Richie with worried eyes. Richie seemed completely taken aback by his father’s actions, unsure of what to do or say.

“You little shit, you don’t know a damn thing.” Was all his father said before leaving.

The minutes that passed after his father’s departure were painful.

“Richie,” Beverly’s tone was quiet and careful. She didn’t know what to say, she just knew she had to do something. Anything.

“He’s never done that before.” Richie admitted, voice far quieter than anything she was used to from him. “Fuck.”

Bev walked over to Richie and grabbed him by the arm, leading him outside. She motioned for him to follow and he silently did. They made their way to some area of the woods where they knew they wouldn’t be bothered and finally stopped. Bev reached into her pockets and took out a pack of cigarettes-- not the same kind Richie’s father smoked, he noticed.

She handed him one.

“It’s not a good habit but who cares.” She said, “It helps.”

Richie nodded and took the cigarette. She got one out for herself and lit them both.

“...The others don’t know about your parents, do they?”

“Stan does. Bill’s got a good idea and Eds isn’t stupid, but he doesn’t know any details.” Richie explained. “Mike and Ben have no clue.”

“I won’t tell anyone.” Bev promised, taking a drag of her cigarette.

Richie attempted to copy her action but only started coughing as the smoke filled his lungs. She laughed a little as he coughed and gave the cigarette a dirty look.

“How the  _ fuck _ do my parents smoke these things so much?!”

“You get used to it after a while.” Bev said, smiling.

“Good fuck, I really don’t think I can pick this up like you did.”

“To each their own.”

 

**Eddie**

A few months into the school year, it seemed everything was returning to normal. The groups encounter with It had undoubtedly changed them all for life, but the only one who seemed to still be extremely affected was Stan. No one could blame him for not quite returning to his normal self, but it did make the others try harder to appear as if things were normal again.

Naturally this meant Richie was making an ass out of himself as usual and wound up getting in trouble during class. Eddie wound up being the only one to wait for him while the others went to Bill’s house for the rest of the afternoon. Eddie hoped that their teacher could finish lecturing Richie soon so they’d be able to make it.

He sighed and inched closer to the door of the classroom to peak inside and see if the conversation was almost done. Instead he saw Richie looking upset and their teacher looking very concerned.

“I could just keep giving you detention or you could tell me what’s really going on, Richie. I’m only trying to help.” Their teacher was saying.

“I’ll take detention.” Richie said quickly.

Their teacher sighed heavily and shook her head.

“Richie.” The teacher said in a serious tone. “I’m only bringing this up because I’ve noticed your parents are never at school functions, parent teacher conferences, and never return the schools calls concerning your detention. Put together with the bruises you’ve had all year, it doesn’t paint a good picture. I’m worried.”

“There’s nothing to worry about! I have friends, we do stupid shit, I get bruises!”

Eddie frowned. Sure, he’d noticed the bruises too, but every time he asked Richie had the perfect excuse. Only now he was being given a different perspective to view it from…

“I understand that is a possibility. But if it isn’t...there’s no need to hide it from me. I only want to help.”

Eddie waited for Richie’s response but there was none. Not for the longest time. The longer the silence dragged on, the more Eddie wanted to smack himself for not pushing Richie harder for answers. That was his best friend and he hadn’t even considered the bruises were proof of something much darker than some accidental falls.

“It won’t do anything. Nothing ever changes.” Richie finally said and it was all the confirmation needed.

A small gasp escaped Eddie.

“Richie this is serious. If your parents are abusive--”

“It’s not abuse. I just get in the way.” Richie insisted. “They don’t  _ care _ enough about me to abuse me or something like that.”

“ _ Richie _ ,”

“Anyways, nice talk, teach. I’m gonna go now.” 

Eddie definitely didn’t miss the way Richie sounded like he was just barely keeping himself together. As he watched his friend stand and make his way to the door, Eddie quickly backed off and stood a few feet from the door, fidgeting with his fanny pack like that’s what he’d been doing the whole time. When Richie walked out of the classroom, Eddie gave him an innocent enough look.

“Detention again?” He asked.

“Nah, barely got out of it though.” Richie muttered, avoiding looking at Eddie.

“...The others went to Bill’s already. We should probably get going. We don’t want to be walking in the dark with mosquitos or anything. You never know what kind of diseases those things could carry.”

Richie was uncharacteristically quiet the whole way to Bill’s place. Eddie tried to fill the silence with more rambling about whatever thought popped into his mind. Usually something about the recent flu that had gotten a lot of kids sick recently. After a while though, he fell quiet too and the pair rode their bikes in silence.

There was a bit of tension as they reached Bill’s house. Eddie didn’t know if he should confess what he’d heard or not-- based on how Richie was acting he probably didn’t want to talk about it. But if he did…

“Whoa, Eds, what the hell?” Richie was surprised when he was suddenly being hugged close by Eddie.

“You’re my best friend.” Eddie suddenly confessed. “I just...I need you to know that.”

“Dude…that’s so gay…” Richie said.

“...You’re also a giant asshole.”

 

**Mike**

It wasn’t often Mike was able to visit the rest of the losers. He mostly saw them on the weekends nowadays, and even then their time was limited since Mike lived the furthest away. This weekend though, was supposed to be special. Bill was turning sixteen and the losers had been planning a surprise for him for a little while now. It was Mike’s job to get everyone together, then go get Bill.

He rode to Richie’s house first and found him sitting outside on the front steps. Richie was smoking a cigarette while he read a letter. It must have been important since he didn’t notice Mike’s presence yet. Mike never knew how to approach Richie about the changes he’d noticed in him while they grew up. Richie was still an asshole jokester, but there were some other things Mike just didn’t expect Richie to fall into.

“Since when do you smoke?” Was how he ended up greeting Richie.

Richie looked up and shrugged, putting his cigarette out on the step and standing up.

“I don’t know, probably a few months now? Why, you want one?”

“No.” Mike scrunched his face up at the idea. “I thought you smelled like smoke for a while now but I didn’t think it was because you started smoking…”

“Well, I do.”

“How do you even get cigarettes.”

“Bev sends them in the mail sometimes. Other times I just steal them from my old man.”

Mike was slightly surprised at his honesty.

“You talk to Bev?”

“Yeah there’s this cool thing called mail. Some of you might have fucking heard of it. Bill might benefit from learning about it since he wants to get his dick wet so fucking bad.”

Mike eyed the letter in Richie’s hand briefly before nodding. It was probably from Bev, and if it was it was likely a conversation just for the two of them. He thought it best not to pry. Richie already seemed on edge.

“You ready for today?” Mike asked.

“Was your mom ready for me last night?” Richie’s joke fell entirely flat but he didn’t seem to care. “Ready to get the fuck away from here.”

It was only as Richie went to grab his bike that Mike noticed the bruise on the side of his face. It looked like an older one, and Mike had to wonder when exactly he’d gotten it. He didn’t have it last time they saw each other, that’s for sure…

“Get in another fight with Bill?” Mike asked, eyeing the bruise with a concerned expression.

Richie laughed.

“He wishes he could hit me hard enough to this!”

“That’s not an answer, Richie.”

Richie paused for a second.

“No. Not Bill, if it really matters that much to you.”

“It does.”

“Yeah, well, it shouldn’t. Let’s go.”

Mike let Richie lead the way to the others homes. Eddie first, then Stan, then Ben before they made their way to Bill’s. Mike noticed the only other person to make a fuss about the bruise was Ben and Richie played it off with a ridiculous tale of how he’d fought a bear and that was the wound he received when escaping it. Ben didn’t question it after that, and Stan told Richie to shut up for once in his life.

Richie had laughed off his friend’s irritation and everything was normal for the next few hours. Bill’s surprise party had gone by perfectly, everyone had really pulled their weight to make it happen and it paid off. It was only after Richie left to use the bathroom did anyone bring up the elephant in the room.

“I can’t believe that bruise is still there.” Stan said, shaking his head.

“Y-yeah, f-feels like it's been w-weeks.” Bill chimed in.

“It’s only been six days.” Eddie corrected. That earned him a look from Bill and Stan. “What? I keep track, ok?”

“How did he get it?” Mike asked. He and Richie weren’t particularly close, so he doubted he’d get the full truth from Richie alone.

“...His dad’s been real rough on him lately.” Ben said, “He thinks we don’t know, but…”

“It’s obvious. We aren’t stupid kids anymore.” Stan finished.

“I didn’t...notice…” Mike felt a bit of guilt for not being there more. Maybe if he’d been there and noticed, he could have helped…

“He hides most of them. It’s actually not normal for him to get hit in the face. Must’ve been a bad night…” Eddie said, sighing. “It’s stressful. He still won’t talk to me about it and he tells me just about everything.”

“Is that why he smokes now?” Mike carefully asked.

“Oh god,” Eddie groaned, “I hate that he smokes. It’s so unhealthy. Do you know what cigarettes do? They cause cancer.  _ Cancer. _ ”

“Long story short, yes, that’s exactly why he smokes. He says it helps with stress.” Stan explained.

The group fell back into regular conversation by the time Richie returned, and luckily no one gave off the vibe that they’d been talking about him. Richie seemed to act just fine around the group but now Mike wondered how much of it was fake. How much of Richie’s loud and obnoxious personality was an act?

 

**Ben**

Ben never thought he and Richie were really the closest of the losers, but he valued their friendship nonetheless. Richie usually dodged any personal questions from Ben, whereas he knew Richie trusted Eddie, Stan, and Bill with certain details. Usually Eddie was the one who could get the closest thing to a full story but the other two were still fairly well informed.

The lack of trust Richie placed in Ben when it came to his personal life was why Ben was shocked to see Richie standing on his doorstep at 11 pm. Now seventeen, Richie was by far the tallest of the losers but now he looked so small. Maybe it was how he was soaked to the bone from the rain outside or how he looked completely dejected, but it definitely wasn’t the Richie Tozier that Ben had come to know throughout the years.

“Hey.” Richie said in greeting. “Hope you don’t mind but I stopped by. Obviously.”

“...No, it’s fine. Uh, actually nice timing. My parents are out of town for the weekend so we won’t be disturbing anyone.”

“Sweet.” He paused for a moment before motioning with one arm, “Can I come inside now?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sorry.” Ben stepped aside and let Richie inside.

Richie immediately shed himself of his wet jacket and looked tempted to take off his shirt too, but resisted the urge. Ben immediately noticed some poorly wrapped bandages on Richie’s arm, faintly red from blood.

“Richie what happened to your arm?” Ben asked immediately.

“Don’t tell Eddie. Fuck, don’t tell  _ anyone _ , ok?” 

“I-I won’t-- Richie was it your parents?”

“No. Not this time.”

The look Ben gave him made him feel sick. He didn’t want to worry anyone but there was no way he could get through the night without someone.

“It’s not a suicide thing.” Richie promised. “But it fucking stings and god knows I don’t have anything to deal with that at my house.”

“I have some disinfectant in the bathroom and a first aid kit for bandages…” Ben led the way in after a few minutes, Richie was sitting on the edge of the bathtub while Ben wrapped some fresh bandages around the wound. It was a bit deep, but nothing life threatening. Ben worked gentle, trying to be extra sure not to irritate the wound and accidentally hurt Richie any further.

“Ben, I think my parents suck.” Richie said, looking at him.

“No shit, man,” Ben let out a small laugh, “We’ve kind of noticed. All of us.”

“And here I thought I hid it well.” Richie said dryly. “...I’m leaving soon.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I found a good way out. I think I can really get away from all this shit once and for all.”

“O-oh.” Ben was slightly surprised. Of course it made sense for him to want to get away from his parents, from Derry, but hearing it was different. It reminded him of Beverly and how much they all missed her. “Well...if it’ll make you happy… I’ll still miss you though.”

“That’s super gay of you to say.”

“Says the guy dating a man.”

“Touche my friend.”

“Seriously. I want you to be happy.”

Richie nodded slowly. Ben finished wrapping the bandages and a rather comfortable silence overtook them as he put the kit back where he found it. He tried to lend Richie some clothes but they weren’t exactly the same size. Anything Ben had simply looked awkward on Richie, but he didn’t seem to care.

The pair didn’t speak much for the rest of the night. In the morning, Richie’s clothes were dry so he changed back into them and prepared to leave. He mentioned how he should probably stop by Bill’s on the way home to give him back something he’d borrowed, but Ben highly doubted he’d be spending real quality time with any of the losers today. He looked completely drained.

“Hey, Ben, uh… Thanks a lot. For last night. And I guess your future secrecy too.”

“No problem, Richie.”

“This is getting way too sentimental so I’m gonna hit the road before I vomit from the sweetness of all this.”

Ben tried not to worry about Richie for the rest of the day, and when he did he reminded himself Richie had plans for the future. Richie wouldn’t do something stupid if he was planning to get out of that godforsaken town. He truly did hope that things could be easier for all of the losers in the future. Maybe once they were adults, they could be at peace with the world around them and live their lives without the past haunting them.


End file.
